Qatar foreign minister to visit Iran

TEHRAN (AA) – Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is slated to visit Iran on Saturday, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

During his visit to Tehran, the top Qatari diplomat will hold talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Twitter.

The Doha-based Al Jazeera television, citing sources, said the Qatari minister was due to arrive in Tehran, without giving further details.

There was no comment from Qatari authorities on the visit, which comes one day after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone attack in Iraq.

Soleimani's death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a 2015 nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country’s highest honor last year, vowed “severe retaliation” in response to his killing.

Soleimani was the long-time commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, which was designated a terror group by the U.S. The group is estimated to have 20,000 members.